A couple Q's... it's been years since I had a 17, now I'm ready for the water with my latest catch...

I've got double exit blocks with cleats on the mast base...

Questions:

1) What is the max downhaul permitted (not ratio - distance - the black "max" line on the mast is missing) - does it ever exceed the bolt rope/sail feeder in the mast track? Getting it pretty tight mine came right about to the sail feeder...

2) On the H-20 the downhaul was a VERY poweful tool to DE-power the top of the sail... I was reminded tonight as I rigged the boat for the first time what a noodle the H-17 comp tip is, man does that thing curve! Do you guys play with the downhaul much, or just set it and forget it for up wind and release a little down wind?....

2) The downhaul on the 17 is not quite the powerful tool it is on the 20, but it's still used to tame the power going upwind. It's important to be able to adjust from the wire, since you can't really get it tight enough until you've sheeted in almost all the way.

I find the downhaul on the 17 to be a very powerful tool for sail tuning, second only to the mainsheet. Rigged out to the wings is a must for racing (tie the ends off to the wing tube at the forward outboard opening in the wing tramp so that the line can be reached from out on the wire).

The downhaul is very effective at lowering the CE of the mainsail and keeping the helm balanced. Whenever the windspeed increases, the helm tends to load up, and if you pull in the downhaul, it will balance the helm back out. When windspeeds get to around 20 or more, I'll have the downhaul within 1" of being bottomed out for sailing upwind. With the top of the sail is flat and twisted the boat takes off. I typically opt for max downhaul before messing with the traveller.

The downhaul block on my sail is a harken 16mm triple shackled to the grommet. It is very low profile. On the mast, I have a harken micro double with the pin in the mast base going through the becket on the block (pretty sure I had to remove a small amount of material to get it to fit). The whole system is very low profile and I use the whole range. So I'm not sure where the bottom of the sail ends up, but it is low, probably below the feeder.

I'd recommend reinforcing the tack grommet with a 1" wide webbing strap sewn through it. The stock grommets on the 17 sail suck. I wouldn't trust it with the full downhaul load.

I agree with srm, the down haul is only second to the main sheet. I adjust mine often. A down haul adjustment - even slight - is warranted with most main sheet changes. It is amazing what a small adjustment can do to your sails shape and your boats performance.

The comment I made ("The downhaul on the 17 is not quite the powerful tool it is on the 20") relates to the 20 crew's ability to work the downhaul in puffs to maintain proper attitude (weather hull just kissing the water) while going upwind. The crew on a 20 can dynamically adjust the power by playing the downhaul upwind from the trapeze. Same thing for F18, F16, I-20, etc.

You can't do that on a 17, unless you have three arms.

Because you have to go forward on the trapeze (when your weight should be aft in any kind of waves) and bend down (reducing the righting moment) to pick up and adjust the downhaul tied to the wing, it's slow to continuously play with it.

When it comes to depowering, the downhaul on a 17 is a distant fourth to mainsheet, traveler and helm technique. Those are the only things you can change when you're trapezing.

The traveler is used to depower when trapezing and the downhaul is maxed (or nearly maxed) out. Feathering (helm technique) is used to depower when you can't drop the traveler quickly enough or the puff is short lived. Works best in flat water.

Downhaul is actually less effective at depowering than mast rotation, but because you can't set the rotation from the wire, downhaul ranks above it.

I guess it partially depends on which H17 you sail (SE or Sport). The Sport has no boom, so no outhaul or mast rotation control. When the main is loaded traveler control only works if you are traveling in, but not out (unless you unload the main). On the Sport you can depower ~30% by just rolling up the jib. Also you can travel out a bit, loosen the main sheet, round up more into the wind or any combination of the three. I don't use the downhaul so much to depower as to 'maximize' power, trying to get that perfect sail shape to attain the best speed.

I am going to be putting this together later in the spring. Does anyone have pics of how they have their downhauls rigged for reference. It will not be for racing but I want to give it the best usefulness I can and make sure I don't need any hardware. It does not have a fancy downhaul rig just stock if that.